I have been interested in researching my family for many years. I have found information on my family that we did not know before and found extended members of my family. It has been a wonderful trip through my history and I have learned a lot about myself and why I am who I am. In looking at pictures I have had passed down to me from various members of my family I realized I had a number of generations of pictures. Many years ago there was a song done by the Judd's about a photograph of family members and how they could see some of the same characteristics through the generations. I began to take a closer look at some of my pictures and could also see likenesses and differences. I decided since today is Mother's Day I would honor some of the women in my family. Here, then, is where I came from, who I am and where I am going. I hope all of you enjoy my pictures as much as I have enjoyed putting this together.
This is my granddaughter, Clara Elizabeth Stein. She is the oldest child in her family, having one brother, Jonathan Michael, and a new brother to be born in August. Clara is 5 years old and my very special princess. She will always be special no matter how many grandchildren I am blessed with, Clara will always be my first. 
This is my daughter, Victoria Regina Mullikin. She is my second child, having an older brother, Christopher Michael. Victoria will be 33 in October. Victoria is a very special person also. She is a fantastic daughter, wonderful mother. Clara was so excited to be Victoria's daughter she decided to come about six weeks early. Victoria and her husband raise their children with love, patience and caring. They do only what is best for the children and are very active in all parts of their lives.
This is me--Monica Cecelia Small. I am the youngest and only girl in my family. I will be 59 in August. I have been spoiled and I am sure there were times when my brothers totally resented me. I have always been "Daddy's girl" and knew it. My mother always made me know she was proud of me no matter what I did, as long as what I did I did to the best of my ability. 
This is my mother--Mary Bernadine Wimpling. If she were still living she would be 94 years old on May 14. My mother was one of the most patient people I ever knew. She was strong and kind and a wonderful woman. I don't know that there was ever anyone who did not like my mother. I once asked her what she had wanted to be she was a child. Her answer: "All I ever wanted to be was somebody's mother." She was--she had three children of her own and seven foster children. She is the only person I know who actually ever achieved her entire goal in life. She was a stay-at-home mom and totally content to be that. She waited on my Dad, hand and foot, and was content to do that. Though she has been gone for over 20 years I think of her every day and only hope she is looking down and is still proud of me and where her family has continued.
This is my mother's mother--Clara Marie Regler. Clara was born 118 years ago in January. She was the only grandparent I ever knew. When I was little we lived on Carey Street in Baltimore and she lived five doors down from us. Her home was as much ours and our own home was. Her parents moved into the house on Carey Street when she was about six years old and was 76 when she moved out. She grew up in the home, took care of her father and brother after the death of her mother, raised her own family, lost her husband and three of her five children while living in this home and eventually left because she was unable to live there alone. She, too, was a strong lady, dealing with life as it was dealt. She had one brother, George Henry, who was 18 months older than she. By the end of her life she lived with my family and she is another that even though she is gone 35 years I think of her often. 
I don't have a single picture of my great grandmother, so this is a two-generation picture. On the left is Catherine Fahey, the mother of my grandfather. On the right is Clara Marie again. Catherine is Clara's mother-in-law. Catherine was born approximately 156 years ago in Tuam, County Galway, Ireland. For many years Catherine ran a boarding home on Pratt Street in Baltimore across from the B & O Rail Yards. Most of her boarders worked for the B & O. From what family have told me she was a strict, hard-working, no-nonsense person who ran her home with an iron glove. She married Andrew Wimpling, a man from Germany. Andrew supposedly spoke no English, and Catherine spoke no German, but at one time the two of them were servants in a home, met, and eventually married. They had a total of nine children. They were hard working, poor people who expected no more than they earned. Good people.
This is my grandmother, Winifred Catherine Madigan. She was my father's mother. She was born 125 years ago this coming July. Winifred died when I was about 3 years old, so I don't really remember her. She married Sylvester Arthur Small and they had six children. Two died as infants, the other four survived to adulthood. At this point, one, my father, who will be 95 years old on May 21st, is the sole survivor. Winifred's family came from Ireland during the potato famine. Her parents were very young when she was born, and eventually they separated. Her mother, Annie, went to lived in Hagerstown, Maryland, leaving Winifred with relatives in Baltimore. In Hagerstown Annie eventually remarried and had other children, who Winifred met when she was an adult. I don't think she ever knew her father. Again, this is a product of a poor, hard-working, strong family.
This is Bernadine Catherine Frances Kaiser. This is Clara Marie's mother. She was born in Baltimore 146 years agao. She had one sister, Maria Ann, who was older. She died when my mother was one year old. My grandmother used to tell me Bernadine used to have terrible back pain. She would lie on the floor and my grandmother would massage her back for her. Eventually she was taken to surgery, the doctor's thinking she had gallbladder disease. When they opened her they found she had cancer, and there was nothing they could do for her. They closed her back up and told her family it was just a matter of time. She continued to live for another two years, astounding her doctors. Her doctor used to make house calls just to see her and she could not understand why he kept coming--she hadn't called him. The family never told her she had cancer. 
Finally, this is Maria Teresa Seiler. She was born approximately 188 years ago. She was the mother of Bernadine Catherine Frances and Maria Ann Kaiser. I once found extended family--actually the family of Maria Ann--and when I sent them a copy of this picture it seems to appear Maria Teresa may have had a cleft lip. Apparently a member of the extended family had someone born with a cleft, which is a trait that runs in families. After seeing this picture they were able to see where it came from. Maria married Heinrich Kaiser. Both Maria and Heinrich were born in Germany--I've been told Kolblentz, and I've been told Bielefeld. Heinrich was a stone mason and my grnadmother used to tell us he built a church in the city where he was born. As children we had visions of this little man building the entire cathedral single handedly. So this is the stock from which my family comes. None were outstanding in their field. None were notable. Most have probably been forgotten by all but those of us who look at the pictures and share the history. But all were proud, hardworking, honest people. What a legacy! Happy Mother's Day to all of them and to all of us. May we all live to celebrate many more wonderful days with our families and share their histories.
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